Every person I know that loves old BioWare was completely unaware of Exodus when I started sending them some of the video releases. Anecdotal I know but these are type of gamers whose knowledge of at least the existence of the game should be a given.
Blood of Dawnwalker also has clear timeline on their reveals. I know I'm getting a gameplay deep dive in the summer. With Exodus I just don't know when to expect things.
Dawnwalker trailer is just better marketing material as it's more efficient in connecting with the audience. It featured a small prologue story with some tension (the peasants being chased by the retinue), emotionally relatabe on the level of a family drama (dying kid), and had a twist (vampires saving the designated protagonist characters). On top of that, the decorations are much more familiar and coded with relatable for many in Eastern Europe motiffs. Meanwhile, Exodus promo materials were mostly the typical disconnected "wow" moments bombardment without any plot, which is the go-to in like 80% of American media promotion. Plus Exodus is set in a fairly standard cosmic opera setting and not the Scorn-esque techno-fantasy future, which is magnitude more memorable as a setting.
This! Also a case can be made that some nerdy material at the start isn't supposed to appeal to a wide audience so not marketing it towards the lowest common denominator is a GOOD thing. Think back to the old Final Fantasy games on the console prior to Final Fantasy 7. 7 will always be remembered by the casual gamers since it had massive push in the west unlike the previous Final Fantasy games which were considered "nerd only" games. (JRPG at the time in the 16 bit era were considered a niche in the same way R rated horror movies like Terrifier are a niche) By making this less appealing to everyday people, it protects it. Only serious people will dig down to research about it and then its free of hype but full of high IQ fanbase. Monster Hunter started out this way when it first launched in the west it was panned by the casual gamers. Then when MH World came out it suddenly got more mainstream because it was dumbed down. The makers of Exodus may not be ready to create games for the casuals yet so are not putting in effort to win them at this point. They want to make it a "nerd only" game first and if they can prove to nerds they can make it worthy of their love. When Bethesda stopped caring about OG fans, they did so on the basis that they NEEDED to make lot of money, not further the art. Games like Fallout when they came out were niche games. They became more normie friendly after Bethesda bought them. We have to remember this because not all franchises start out directed at the casual gamers. They start out as games made by developers for an inteligent audience. Then over time more and more systems are introduced to put in more hand-holding features so the normies don't get frustrated and return the game back to the store out of frustration that they don't get it. (necessary to make back the money used to invest in the game which is high budget. Make it too difficult and you lose income) If franchises like Fallout did not get bought by Bethesda we probably would still see them in isometric form like the originals and designed to run on low budget platform. (ie like the Wasteland sequels) Many franchises begin hard (too hard for casual gamers who have lower patience) such as Wizardry games and then in time become less brutal. This may be the path for new WRPG to demonstrate that the developers know who their audience is. As an example capcom could have given up on old school Monster Hunter fans if they wanted to but just kept the Monster Hunter World fans happy by giving them an easier way to get into Monster Hunter by creating the 'World' series. But the original MH games aimed at hardcore gamers still had to exist as the base for the casual-friendly series to start. The Monster Hunter games (popular in japan) were not heavily marketed. The Demons Souls were not heavily marketed. The reason? Hardcore gamers know what they like. Some franchises get by on a dedicated but small fanbase. Shin Megumi Tensei series is one example. Not as popular as Persona but the fanbase keeps it alive.
Archetype Entertainment is clearly relying on word of mouth, drawing in Mass Effect fans and gradually building interest through lore and story reveals in a compelling setting. It's far too early to worry about their approach just because they haven't launched with the same impact as The Blood of the Dawnwalker. For two games to be on my radar at the same time - as a very casual gamer - is almost unheard of.
I think Exodus will get more interest through gameplay and eventual rollout of the Celestials. A big thing they can do is ramp up contrasting points of the game. Adventure, horror, hope, despair, specufic trailers around that. Showing more body horror among a Changeling crew (responsing to a distress signal like encounter) would be a big win for me. Checking out derelict ships is a big part of space for me.
This is my thought too. They (fairly or not) pulled some bad blood when Matthew announced the game in such a flippant way after Swen was pulled off stage mid speech at the game awards. Follow that up with a mountain of dev Q&A's where they *really* lean into "being like mass effect" just before BioWare screws the pooch with Vielguard and the resultant player insecurity about the way Mass Effect is going... It's a lot to overcome. I know I completely ignored everything about the game because of the way it was presented at the game awards. It was only after Spell&Sheild started covering it that I really took notice. For players who haven't got a favourite content creator covering the game, I can see how a lot would have seen that intro at the game awards and just switched off. I can also see a lot of people who don't have any other inroad to the game ignoring it *because* it looks *so much* like a BioWare game. It's a pity, because I really believe they have something that can bring us back to that OG Mass Effect vibe but with a new slant... but I'm not sure that *enough* to catch the bulk of potential player's attention after the cascade of drama that BioWare have tainted everything related to them with. Unfortunately, people see "coloured hair, vaguely butch looking chick, purple magic, looks like bioware" and immediately nope out. At this stage of development I'm not sure if they can remedy that, so they need to make up for it in some *very* carefully targeted marketing.
I didn't wishlist Exodus after the first trailer. I saw it and had no idea what it was. The game fell off my radar almost instantly until I stumbled on some videos explaining what it was going to be and doing some reading on their website. Now it is one of my most anticipated games, if not THE most. But I agree that is a major problem for them. Whenever they announce a release date they have to come out swinging to get more eyes on their product.
They definitely need a BIG marketing push, and I really hope they've got one planned and have just been working up to one. They've been so focused on not showing too much too soon, and are holding back on a lot of stuff, but they're going to need to have a moment where they lay it out on the table and show people something substantive, something to catch their attention and give players who aren't in the know an idea of what Exodus is offering and what they should be excited for.
My friend didn't realize this game was being made by members of old Bioware and because of this he said his honest feelings and he thought the game looked like shit. That doesn't sound good. He doesn't follow stuff closely like I do, so I'd group him in with a more casual audience.
Looks to me like plenty of games have issues with marketing nowadays, be it Exodus, AC: Shadows or Avowed - although for the latter two the reasons might slightly differ.
I think the reason for each is very different. AC: Shadows butchered Japanese history, while Avowed looks like ass and the idiot who made it look that bad said lots of stupid shit. I think Exodus is just too nerdy for many.
I hope this game doesn't sink because marketing screwed up, The game actually looks like spiritual successor to mass effect and we know we aint getting a good mass effect game from bioware anytime soon.
Imagine a world where Biowares ME5 outsells Exodus? One can argue whether they think ME5 will be a good game or not. I do think Bioware will have no problem properly getting fans hyped for it. Exodus has to step up it's marketing.
Can't agree with this, but then again I'm probably their target audience since I loved DA and ME. And the OG developers are behind this game and that info is already enough for me to get hyped 😅and they said that if you liked ME your gonna love this one. I watched the trailer so many times and always get hyped.I hope it will succeed when it comes out. We also don't know the release date of the game so I'm gonna assume we will get better trailers in the future so don't lose hope.😂 But ngl Dawnwalker looked awesome and I'm hyped for that game as well. Maybe you should look at the marketing of Avowed 😭😭😭that has been terrible the game releases next month and the developers are radio silent...💀
It absolutely can be. It just isn't enough of a hook. It is barely even gameplay. "Visit places and people, and if you ever return they will be gone". People generally like seeing how their actions change how NPCs relate (worship) them, so time dilation is a harder feature to market.
good take. agreed that the exodus marketing makes me a tad worried--but like you said at the end, if they release 2026, there's still some wiggle room. what REALLY REALLY has me worried is freaking AVOWED???? have they completely accepted that KCD2 is going to gobble them up?? the xbox direct thing is on january 23rd. maybe during that presentation, or shortly thereafter, avowed marketing will go into overdrive. but it's like a month away and i barely see anything about it.
When I was in grade 9 - Many, MANY years ago; we had a book report assignment. It was meant to be about 280 pgs over the weekend. Most kids complained about the fact they couldn't read 280 pgs over one weekend. I myself decided to read the Icewind Dale Trilogy, and report on it. I had the books clumped into one big book, and I hadn't at that point read them. They totaled either near or just over 1 k pages. Needless to say my teacher was impressed... and my teacher was the ONLY one impressed, that I'd managed to do so. There was a reason I was a loner in High School. Today's generation has Tiktok, and relatively the attention span of a goldfish. when I write at times, one page in reviews online that would be about the length of a paperback = people write TL;DR. Stating that Exodus has a companion novel (IE: Homework) that is about 1 k pages makes me laugh my ass off in real life. That's not going to help anyone's case for it.
I agree with you, absolutely. If I didn't have any background knowledge about Exodus, I would have 100% made the conclusion that this is just another generic sci-fi that's just a little bit more competent than Starfield. The character designs are also not my favorite, so far and the graphics style and art is super reliant on UE5 and doesn't stand out in the slightest. You could tell it was made in UE5 just by looking at the visual effects in the game. Character faces also look a bit undercooked and have that dead glare vibe. I'm super hyped for the game but these are my unfortunate observations.
I think Dawnwalker also has the advantage of being about playing a vampire in a medieval setting. That feels way more fresh than another space game (regardless of how cool the worldbuilding is). You also have to factor in that one studio is made up of ex-CDPR employees while the other one is made up of ex-Bioware vets. If you look at the recent track record of CDPR vs Bioware one of them is clearly above the other. And it's not Bioware.
WoTC being involved in any capacity makes me reticent to have any faith in this game being good. The lore sounds really cool to a sci-fi nerd like me, but that's not going to appeal to the average consumer.
Thats why im remaining skeptical on this game rather full on hyped for dawnwalker. WOTC are a total blight on the gaming space, but i did hear the founder of this game said he demanded creative freedom to make it. But bc of all this im on the fence.
Please, Exodus. Just give me the elevator pitch. Just copy paste the Mass Effect 1 trailer and swap out the lore nouns and I'll be sold. Everything I see from Exodus is MEANDERING. Just tell me what the game is about. That's not spoiling anything. GTA6: You play as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde in a hyper realistic parody of current year Florida. See? It's okay. It's fine. The world didn't end. And now people have something to sink their teeth into.
Idk. The Dawnwalker trailer left me indifferent. It wasn't bad, but there wasn't anything for me to get excited about. On the other hand, we've seen quite a bit of Exodus: Celestials, time dilation, some companions, Jun, etc. Of the two games, I'm definitely more excited for Exodus, which leaves me to believe that less people are interested in space operas than medieval vampire games.
Same here. BoD looks cool, don't get me wrong. But between a game with fixed protagonist (with cheesy name) and a game with customisable protagonist I am more exited to play customisable pc. Games with fixed protagonist like Geralt or Adam Jensen, or Senua don't appeal to me. I'm more likely to watch letsplay, then buy the game and play myself.
The difference in terms of hype could also come from the fact that it is a science-fiction RPG game. It's a niche genre. I do hope the devs talk more about the game and show some gameplay too.
Exodus seems to have been targetted at the sci-fi nerd audience so far. I think it's just a smaller target audience than Dawnwalker, which has more more audience options. It's like comparing EVE Online to World of Warcraft. Both are MMOs, but very different target audiences and the market share shows that. I'm interested in Exodus, but they are releasing too many words, not enough visual content that tells me info. Give me videos, even if they are done in a lower cost artistic method like Diablo or The Witcher did.
One game that I'm really waiting to play is "Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii", new chapter in "Like a Dragon" (formerly known as "Yakuza" in west) franchise, yes it's also very different game from BG3, but it has shown tons of gameplay, game mechanics and whole lot other things to do in game, like a ship versus ship combat which is almost straight out from Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. That game is gonna be a wild ride of experience to play, and fun too.
I think Exodus need to "plant a flag" so to speak, tell that game is this, the story is that, you are this and this is what you are against. Right now for me the exodus throw my way some general concepts what the game is rather than concrete thing what to expect. Also the game for some reason feels very far away, like Im expecting this game in 2026/2027 so maybe this is a factor too.
Absolutely. Conversely, the Dawnwalker showcase left us knowing *exactly* who we're playing, what the stakes are, and what the world will be like. I don't mind lore and flavour, but the Exodus devs *need* to overcome the taint of WOTC and BioWare they *they* painted on themselves with their constant referenced to WOTC and Mass Effect in their Q&A's. I DO think the game will be really good, but they need to shake those names off their product and do some really careful and intentional and *honest* marketing to overcome the problems they made for themselves.
You're right. I didn't even hear of the game until the discord drama. I always trust my gut instinct when it comes to games, and it said that the world seemed interesting but that game left no impression. And I think that might be the crux of the issue: the developers are over-invested in the world-building and aren't invested enough in the product.
I have to agree with you on a lot of the points you make here. I think there is one saving grace, personally: "word of mouth". I had never heard of BG3 until one of my friends told me about it a day before its offical release. I think Baldurs Gate 3 had a similar but different problem than Exodus will. They had the problem of barely anyone knowing what it was to the general public, but they had such a strong release it didnt matter. But the game was so good it went beyond the appeal of "dnd players". I think if exodus on release is a great game that succeeds on every metric it goes for it the goodwill will be all the marketing it needs. I think that we've been missing on good games as of recent and a game going above and beyond even if it has garbage marketing will spread it more than most games. I believe in this game and its ability, I think we have come to find that even if a game trashes itsself in the process of onboarding people early with marketing if the quality is amazing enough it will succeed.
The secret level episode of exodus was quite disappointing. Very rushed and did not feel it was showing off the universe. I know limited runtime was a factor but i was really looking forward to it and felt nothing.
I wonder how much the legacy is important here. The people from Rebel Wolves have worked mostly on Witcher 3 and use that to hype up the crowd, as Witcher 3 was a banger. Archetype is a mix of people, but amongst them those who worked on Mass Effect. And whilst Mass Effect 1 and 2 have been very popular, the ending of ME:3 was very controversial. And well, Bioware has been doing badly ever since: Andromeda, Anthem and the latest release Dragon Age: the Veilguard. So maybe the people of Archetype have to proof themselves more, in the eyes of those who loved bioware's sci-fi series but got disappointed?
if they show us the mara yama people will come flocking everybody says that video games are for little kids but that is far from the truth, video games are now mainly for the grown ups and grown ups love dark stories. If what they said about them comes true in the screen then the game will have a chance for success.
Apples and oranges here I think, bc Dawn has an established setting and the lore is familiar, and its dripping with atmosphere. You get the take immediately, but are left to wonder. You have so many questions. With Exodus, we kinda of a-ready know what to expect. It's Mass Effect on steroids. The lore is more complex, unknown, and needs a lot of explaining. We know vampires. We know medieval Europe. We don't know the galaxy of Exodus. Much harder sell imo
There’s also a giant elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about - go back and watch the extended trailer for Exodus. People are just burned out on Girlboss games. the first two minutes leans entirely into that; it doesn’t matter whether that narrative is a matter of history or present gameplay. Just like bad character animations and incredibly ugly PCs have become a shorthand for shitty games, POC Girlboss has as well. And that’s terribly unfair, but we develop heuristics for a reason: exposure. I don’t think a lot of rank and file gamers are going to sign up for what looks like just another generic UE5 girlboss title. Archetype is going to have to earn their audience after a decade of horrible new IPs and malicious destruction of previous franchises.
yeah, I think this is definitely a factor too. The cinematic teaser trailer is way more 'known' than the more recent trailers and gameplay reveal. I think a lot of players will look at that and put 2 + 2 together and get 5. Especially with the only other female character being fairly butch, short pink hair and mouthy. I personally like the mech driver, but a LOT of guys seem to hate her on sight. They need to counteract that and stop comparing themselves to BioWare. They can't afford to associate their game with that company right now.
@@editorrbr2107 Given BioWare Edmonton (Spelling? Not American lol) looks like it's closing down after Corrine quit, this might actually be a good marketing ploy!
@@editorrbr2107 You're not wrong because Rebel Wolves have really leaned into the we are the real CDPR meme...but Archetype won't do that...for sure not.
No doubt an issue for some, especially if they sampled the book which is woke as h***. But woke games and movies do succeed if they are remotely competently made. Sadly most people seem to be blind to the propaganda.
I like Fantasy more then Si-fi It's much harder to sell me a si-fi game. I also love Vampires so Dawnwalker is an easy sell to me. Exodus isn't as interesting to me, after I know what type of characters we can play as I'll know for sure.
I check everyday for a physical collectors edition 😂😂 this game is my number one want ! I just wish they'd give us more information especially if it's supposed to ship this year .
Yeah, I feel conflicted about this. On one hand I want it to be successful and gain the popularity that will allow it to grow and be as robust and engaging of a game and universe as possible but I appreciate the authentic approach and it not trying to just market for broad appeal. I love that it seems to be made for and by the kind of people that appreciate the depth that the Centauri cluster seems to offer.
I mean it's hard to compete with a game where you get to play a vampire, with those visuals. It's going to draw gazes. Not saying Exodus is doomed, but it just won't get that same attention until played.
Yeah I think they could have ridden the WOTC and "looks like old-school BioWare" waves a year ago, but the 'updates' to D&D and Veilguard's crash and burn have happened since this game was first announced. Nostalgia and hope isn't cutting it anymore. I think they need to do some serious damage control and show us something that pulls players attention away from their association with two very disliked studios. That reputation won't go away unless they make an effort to remove it rather than leaning into it.
Exodus really do look generic... animals as a humanoid enemy? at least mass effect have cool looking aliens, not so much in andromeda, but, one of the first that got me into the first mass effect is the cool looking aliens, and i still dont know what Exodus gameplay would be, is it a mass effect clone or a space ship combat game? because there wasent any ground combat in the secret level episode, it look like its just another space game by Chris Roberts
Animals are not always humans enemy at all, it just depends on them. Celestials (who are kinda aliens) are "humans enemy" (kinda as well). There has been a 2min gameplay trailer which shows it's kinda like Mass Effect (combat on ground, with two mates on mission).
I dunno, I think the Mara Yama are pretty cool and interesting and terrifying. Just because all the 'aliens' have human DNA doesn't mean they aren't 'cool'. There are plenty of gnarly looking enemies and potential allies they've shown us so far.
The game which I'm the most excited for right now, Dawnwalker right after. But yes I agree, the marketing has not been great until now (and probably for longer as well), even a lot of the ones who love the lore and who are really invested in Exodus want more ; pieces of lore here and there + Q&As ain't enough where we are at now. The only reason why I'm still more excited for Exodus than Dawnwalker is because I prefer SciFi. Hopefully, AE shows us something cool soon, things which look great and "unique", which can make people see this game has something great to offer, instead of just being another "basic space game". They could show more of the Celestials (Crown or Mara Yama, both would be better, maybe even another Celestial civilisation if there will be a third which will be very important in the game), of the Livestone, of the Silicates (though there, we've gotten more, but only the founders did through that email sent video), etc.
It depends where they see their release window. I much rather prefer intensive 6 - 9 month media campaign with nearly finished product - as opposed to CGI or "in-game alpha footage" trailers years ahead of release.
The marketing by Rebel Wolves has been really great. The fact that big and small youtubers are reacting positively really speaks values. Even Asmongold reacted to the trailer. 😂
I think they need to reinvigorate what people really enjoyed about Mass Effect, particularly Mass Effect 2. Sure, the lore in Mass Effect was actually really good, especially across the first two games, since the third one kind of messed it up a little. You need to hype up a dynamic dialogue system and emotional storytelling so that it feels like an epic space opera. You need to showcase an incredibly well-written and interesting cast of companions that players will want to get to know and adventure with. And you need to emphasize choice and consequence so that players know they can craft their own narrative. This is basic.
Trust of marketing is low. Trust of any large corporate product is low. Trust of Wizards of the Coast specifically is VERY low. This game will not have a strong launch because of associations and funding sources imply it will not be good. The extreme cultural damage caused by such groups as Wizards of the Coast incites a call for blood, and they choose not to hear it. They will suffer and many will watch with joy. The game being good or bad does not matter while it has this association.
Maybe, I get being apprehensive. But I don’t mind these breakdowns of lore being produced for fans looking forward to the game. A library of content is nice to have. I imagine more eye catching stuff will be released closer to game date
Personally I'm not sold on Dawnwalker either. Besides needing more than a glimpse of gameplay the 30 days and 30 nights timer is worrisome. I've never liked timers in games. Maybe it will be done in a way that's fine, but I won't know until much more is revealed.
If it helps any, they said it's not a "timer" as such, it's a in character time until your family meets a "bad fate" tm. The "timer" (day/night cycle) is progressed by the *completion* of milestone quests. It looks like you can bank those quests and explore to your heart's content. The "timer" doesn't clock over until you *hand the quest in* .
I have to be honest, its going to be hard to feel for the future humans as much. They will be harder to relate to. Thats the reason i always like the guardsmen in 40k or the empire soldiers in fantasy, bc you can relate to ordinary guys facing absolute horrors. But that said, im still 100% giving this game a shot with a purchase if it keeps modern politics and dei stuff out of it. Just make a fun game with lore that makes sense and youll have my money. Im more excited for dawnwalker, but im keeping my hopes up for this game too.
I think the Exodus team have a little bit of catching up to do because of the game awards where they showed their first reveal too. I don't know how many others felt the same way as me, but I completely ignored Exodus and didn't have any idea what it was about until YOU started covering for one simple reason - That fiasco of an award show where Swen Vinke was kicked off the stage mid speech about Larian's deceased staff. Every time a celeb was ushered on stage that night, someone's award speech was cut short, and I saw Mathew and saw red. I simply didn't want to know what it was. As soon as you started covering the game, I realised it *was* a game I'd be interested in, but the context of Matthew being called on stage to showcase Exodus left a *very* bad taste in my mouth. I think we've also had some sci-fi games release relatively recently (not the same *type* , but we've had a couple of Warhammer games etc.), but we haven't had a *good* vampire game in a *very* long time. I also think they need to show us that they're *not* just an ME clone too. That was exciting before Veilguard, but anything even vaguely resembling BioWare games is kind of poison at the moment. I know it'll settle down before the game is released, but the *last* thing they need in two years (or whenever) it's released, is for people to remember BioWare's fiascos when they are trying to sell a *new IP* . The devs have stated repeatedly, how much 'inspiration' this game pulls from Mass Effect/their BioWare days. Now is NOT the time to ride those coat tails Anyway, I think the laid back chats and lore shorts have worked well so far, but from mid 2025 they have a *lot* of competition and a fair bit of the BioWare taint to overcome from their *own* marketing statements. I agree they need to pull something out of their hats to keep their momentum building.
They don't have to do anything look at Elden Ring! They did the book & it is awesome! Marketing needs to be as little as possible! If too much is released people will tear it apart because it doesn't live up to their expectations! Exodus just needs to do what it has been doing after all it is their game & I support them 110%!
I'll give you the marketing is a bit wack for Exodus. But for a scifi literary fella such as myself I'm all in. I will say having WotC involved does give me doubt. Let's hope 'they' don't try to put their shit into it. Dawnwalker with the OG CdpR team working on it? Yeah I haven't been this excited for a game since the Witcher 3! 😎
There’s also a genre difference too. Fantasy has almost always outsold sci fi. And that’s true whether it is gaming or films or print. Your point stands: the marketing has not been great for this game, in terms of getting the heart beat up. And I don’t think, as a tactical maneuver, the exodus team has leaned nearly enough into their Mass Effect credentials. Rebel wolves will remind you of their bona fides at every opportunity. But there is a genre difference that is always going to come in to play as well (The supremely mediocre inquisition sold 11 million copies. ME3 sold just over 5 million; it was the most successful in the franchise, for instance).
For me the biggest point of concern is this being a hasbro/wotc game, not licensed like bg3, but wholly owned. I’m not a fan (to put it mildly) of what they did with pen and paper dnd, and I cannot shake the feeling these guys are not the ones to trust with this new ip (though the devs certainly deserve respect). That being said, I keep watching the news on Exodus and seeing how things develop, and so far I’m interesting in playing it
Yeah this kind of concerns me. They made a point of saying "not owned, we retain all ownership and rights to the game" when it was first announced, and now they're totally in bed with WOTC and even have the WOTC dude in the dev videos. I'm a little confuse and miffed by this. Not a deal breaker for me... YET... but it does give me pause. Why lie?
You've already talked about the importance of selecting, broadening and narrowing the target audience in gaming. I'm sure the marketing campaign structure here is also completely conscious (just as it was with the unfortunate DA: Veilguard from the very first moment last summer), although there may be some loss of momentum. What I see is that the essential calls that appeal to casual players are completely absent. It simply lacks the fun, the flair, the level of magic and mystical that would attract viewers. (Not to mention romance that most ME players cling to and BG3 unfortunately set the bar wrong for). The game looks serious, the lore is serious, the whole background is serious - and so, it attracts solely the the serious and hardcore gamers so far who are old enough to know what "ME OG DEV" means, but that's no way to attract new, young gamers.
Oh there's definitely romance in the game, they've said that in a few of the dev Q&A's. What surprises me is that they really haven't showcased any companions that will *be* romanceable. In the 'anti DEI age" most guys won't want to romance a girl with short pink hair, so who's left? There's only going to be five companions - One is an (apparently) butch looking woman, one is an older guy (not everyone's cup of tea), There's another silhouette that looks kind of alien, which leaves max two spaces for "conventionally attractive" love interests. I love that they have included romances, but I DO think they need to get those last few companions right, otherwise it'll be another scream-fest about "oh X sexual preference had more than Y sexual preference, it's not fair" thing. They have enough to overcome with their connection to BioWare and WOTC, I really hope they get this aspect right.
@@noctoi Absolutely. There are no good romance picks for your average straight male gamer; there were a several in Mass Effect. I just have this feeling that the game could go belly up.
@ Thank you so much for your detailed answer about romance options. I am curious about this game (will definitely read any novels about this world, and look at the art/rpg books), but also 70-80% sure that I am not the target audience. Relying only on the UA-cam trailer, it just did not show anything that made me think: I want this. Still I admire its potential and wish it success. About romance: there are loud people on both sides, one are so extremely picky that they need overrepresentation bc they think that only that's fair; the others are scared when they see a woman lead. But if the characters are integral part of the world, and their sexuality is not a channel for sending a message but a secondary layer in their personality, it shouldn't even matter. It's just sad that we're at such a point in time when people need to be convinced that the characters will be allright, that the story will be compelling and that it will be fun to play both for casual gamers and hardcore gamers. (I first and foremost blame DA:V for this.)
i dont recall any marketing for mass effect 1, i found out about the series for mass effect 2s release. exodus has no set release date, and most likely to have a 2026 release date. i can see them waiting until within a year out to start the real marketing campaign. if theres nothing by summer/fall then theres a problem. i also think putting time between the recent space disasters like starfield and the marketing of a new space game isnt a bad idea. and though the audience is different, anything Nintendo is going to dominate the internet space for the first half of 2025
Must remember gaming 20 years ago was very different to gaming today. A game could survive being marketed by word of mouth back then. Now games are being made with huge budgets that need sales in the millions just to survive so proper marketing and advertisement becomes crucial.
@ with how things are today i think its far better to have a slow trickle of updates to develop a core dedicated fanbases interest and then a marketing push focusing within a few months of launch to build hype for the average gamer. hopefully theyll be smart with the advertisement so it doesnt balloon their budget to the unreasonable levels a lot of triple a studios suffer from. also give very little time for the self sabotage we see in a lot of releases. former bioware devs or makers of mass effect are a detriment to marketing with how many things have crashed and burned. and if they can also form a stark contrast between modern biowares mass effect and former biowares exodus all the better
@@spellandshield At the end of the day, if the game is bad, there's no salvaging the situation in the long run. If the game is good, it may be a situation that can be addressed.
Honestly, the combat/action in the game feels very slow in Exodus. Almost boring really, i'd like to see how the mechanics work and hod fluid it feels. I liked my loop is in Mass Effect - fire - throw grenade - dash in - shotgun out. It was fun and felt fast and kinetic.
Don't agree with you on that. I think Archtype has plenty of time to show more and it's still early. I have a sense it still has a more time to go.I am ok with Dawnwalker but not a big fan of vampires generally.
I think they did marketing upside down. McConaghey was just a big ??? before I even KNEW this game was supposed to be a Mass Effect / Interstellar RPG in the making. And that must've been expensive. Compare that to the stellar (pun intended) appearance of Keanu Reeves in the famous "you are breathtaking" game show and what it did for CP2077. Me, I like hard sci fi, I like high "fantasy" scy fi, I love RPGs, this game will only fail to please me if it's objectivelly BAD. But I sure hope it's a hit for the future of the genre.
Yep. I'm not a huge fan of him at the best of times, so when he interrupted the game award recipients with his (incredibly lackluster) "pewpew" intro to Exodus I immediately switched off and ignored the game on principle. I only started taking notice because S&S started covering it almost a year later. I do think I'll love it, but the marketing has been hitting some sour notes for enough people that it's making *me* worry even though I personally like what I'm seeing.
It's not actually about time travel. It just features time dilation which is where time passes differently for people who are traveling near light speed than for others. It's a real life consequence and a grounded aspect of the sci fi genre.
As others mentioned, it's not 'time travel' it's dime *dilation* . It's an actual real world aspect of physics. You can look it up in advanced physics text books, and if you went in a spaceship at near-light speeds, you'd *actually* experience it.
Exodus will do just fine. Bioware is supposed to shut down on February, all the mass effect nostalgia will cary the game even without a major marketing
@@spellandshield Speaking as an autistic nerd, YES!! While I LOVE games that pander to my fascinations, if the game doesn't sell well there won't be another. If it's *actually good* I want more!! 😅
I can not agree with you. People very much interested in this game, there are plenty of creators covering it regularly, as well as regular updates from official channel, sharing snippets of lore, gameplay, interviews with devs, etc. I keep hearing about it everywhere I go in various rpg and sci-fi related spaces, folks have great expectations for this puppy. Considering game is still in development and don't have launch date more aggressive marketing can make it worse, not better. We all remember how CP2077 overdone it, crashing and burning on release?
Compare the Dawnwalker reception with that of Exodus...sure, some people are talking about it; I have talked about it for almost a year but....it needs more exposure.
@@spellandshield is it necessary to start hype wars in addition to every other controversy surrounding every other release ever for the past decade or so? How about we don't compare them and just treat independently at face value. If anything, I intend to buy both, because they both look cool in their own way. Also, consider this. Dawnwalker was just announced, it's natural bunch of people picked up fresh news and talked about it coming to conclusion it's very intriguing. If they keep up the news, people will keep on covering it. Pretty much the same thing happened year ago with bunch of creators picking apart trailer for Exodus from game awards and coming to conclusion it's very interesting premise. Since then they released bunch of stuff, keeping moderate buzz while they keep on working in production. Business as usual. There's no issue here, no problem requiring special action, because game will be in trouble if they don't. Like, c'mon, seriously? Where this doom howling coming from?
@ It comes from concern because I want Exodus to succeed. I have read the book, all the lore and stories. I want this game to do well...but I am going concerned. Sure, what happens will happen but I can voice my concerns in the meantime.
Information about Exodus is non existant. Yes we got lore, but there is next to nothing about the game itself. And there is always "we will tell you more later..." but later never comes. The pacing of the marketing is off.
Lore dump does not equal marketing. The devs need to be told that somehow before it's too late lol.
Thus spake Dracula...2nd only to Brencis!
Every person I know that loves old BioWare was completely unaware of Exodus when I started sending them some of the video releases. Anecdotal I know but these are type of gamers whose knowledge of at least the existence of the game should be a given.
Blood of Dawnwalker also has clear timeline on their reveals. I know I'm getting a gameplay deep dive in the summer. With Exodus I just don't know when to expect things.
Yup, that is big. They know we want gameplay so they set expectations for that reveal. Good hype building.
Dawnwalker trailer is just better marketing material as it's more efficient in connecting with the audience. It featured a small prologue story with some tension (the peasants being chased by the retinue), emotionally relatabe on the level of a family drama (dying kid), and had a twist (vampires saving the designated protagonist characters). On top of that, the decorations are much more familiar and coded with relatable for many in Eastern Europe motiffs. Meanwhile, Exodus promo materials were mostly the typical disconnected "wow" moments bombardment without any plot, which is the go-to in like 80% of American media promotion. Plus Exodus is set in a fairly standard cosmic opera setting and not the Scorn-esque techno-fantasy future, which is magnitude more memorable as a setting.
Well said Lord Kolodotsjka!
This! Also a case can be made that some nerdy material at the start isn't supposed to appeal to a wide audience so not marketing it towards the lowest common denominator is a GOOD thing. Think back to the old Final Fantasy games on the console prior to Final Fantasy 7. 7 will always be remembered by the casual gamers since it had massive push in the west unlike the previous Final Fantasy games which were considered "nerd only" games. (JRPG at the time in the 16 bit era were considered a niche in the same way R rated horror movies like Terrifier are a niche)
By making this less appealing to everyday people, it protects it. Only serious people will dig down to research about it and then its free of hype but full of high IQ fanbase. Monster Hunter started out this way when it first launched in the west it was panned by the casual gamers. Then when MH World came out it suddenly got more mainstream because it was dumbed down. The makers of Exodus may not be ready to create games for the casuals yet so are not putting in effort to win them at this point. They want to make it a "nerd only" game first and if they can prove to nerds they can make it worthy of their love.
When Bethesda stopped caring about OG fans, they did so on the basis that they NEEDED to make lot of money, not further the art.
Games like Fallout when they came out were niche games. They became more normie friendly after Bethesda bought them. We have to remember this because not all franchises start out directed at the casual gamers. They start out as games made by developers for an inteligent audience. Then over time more and more systems are introduced to put in more hand-holding features so the normies don't get frustrated and return the game back to the store out of frustration that they don't get it. (necessary to make back the money used to invest in the game which is high budget. Make it too difficult and you lose income)
If franchises like Fallout did not get bought by Bethesda we probably would still see them in isometric form like the originals and designed to run on low budget platform. (ie like the Wasteland sequels) Many franchises begin hard (too hard for casual gamers who have lower patience) such as Wizardry games and then in time become less brutal. This may be the path for new WRPG to demonstrate that the developers know who their audience is. As an example capcom could have given up on old school Monster Hunter fans if they wanted to but just kept the Monster Hunter World fans happy by giving them an easier way to get into Monster Hunter by creating the 'World' series. But the original MH games aimed at hardcore gamers still had to exist as the base for the casual-friendly series to start.
The Monster Hunter games (popular in japan) were not heavily marketed. The Demons Souls were not heavily marketed. The reason? Hardcore gamers know what they like. Some franchises get by on a dedicated but small fanbase. Shin Megumi Tensei series is one example. Not as popular as Persona but the fanbase keeps it alive.
Archetype Entertainment is clearly relying on word of mouth, drawing in Mass Effect fans and gradually building interest through lore and story reveals in a compelling setting. It's far too early to worry about their approach just because they haven't launched with the same impact as The Blood of the Dawnwalker. For two games to be on my radar at the same time - as a very casual gamer - is almost unheard of.
Exodus looks like what Mass Effect Andromeda was supposed to be.
I'm looking forward to it but I'm also not getting my hopes up.
Agreed. The studio has also been part of the beast. We shall see if they manage to escape it or not.
I think Exodus will get more interest through gameplay and eventual rollout of the Celestials.
A big thing they can do is ramp up contrasting points of the game.
Adventure, horror, hope, despair, specufic trailers around that.
Showing more body horror among a Changeling crew (responsing to a distress signal like encounter) would be a big win for me. Checking out derelict ships is a big part of space for me.
This game looks like Mass Effect to an almost ridiculous degree. Let's hope it's as good as the original trilogy, then.
This is my thought too. They (fairly or not) pulled some bad blood when Matthew announced the game in such a flippant way after Swen was pulled off stage mid speech at the game awards. Follow that up with a mountain of dev Q&A's where they *really* lean into "being like mass effect" just before BioWare screws the pooch with Vielguard and the resultant player insecurity about the way Mass Effect is going... It's a lot to overcome.
I know I completely ignored everything about the game because of the way it was presented at the game awards. It was only after Spell&Sheild started covering it that I really took notice. For players who haven't got a favourite content creator covering the game, I can see how a lot would have seen that intro at the game awards and just switched off.
I can also see a lot of people who don't have any other inroad to the game ignoring it *because* it looks *so much* like a BioWare game.
It's a pity, because I really believe they have something that can bring us back to that OG Mass Effect vibe but with a new slant... but I'm not sure that *enough* to catch the bulk of potential player's attention after the cascade of drama that BioWare have tainted everything related to them with. Unfortunately, people see "coloured hair, vaguely butch looking chick, purple magic, looks like bioware" and immediately nope out. At this stage of development I'm not sure if they can remedy that, so they need to make up for it in some *very* carefully targeted marketing.
100% what I have been thinking...just really tame and not appealing to the majority of people.
We'll see! 👀
Especially art direction. Plain ol big ass animals is kind of weak.
Agreed, the developer Q&As are especially not moving the needle in terms of growing hype.
I didn't wishlist Exodus after the first trailer. I saw it and had no idea what it was. The game fell off my radar almost instantly until I stumbled on some videos explaining what it was going to be and doing some reading on their website. Now it is one of my most anticipated games, if not THE most.
But I agree that is a major problem for them. Whenever they announce a release date they have to come out swinging to get more eyes on their product.
They definitely need a BIG marketing push, and I really hope they've got one planned and have just been working up to one. They've been so focused on not showing too much too soon, and are holding back on a lot of stuff, but they're going to need to have a moment where they lay it out on the table and show people something substantive, something to catch their attention and give players who aren't in the know an idea of what Exodus is offering and what they should be excited for.
I agree. I think it would be good marketing to have a trailer with more dark lore, that would focus on the Mara Yama
My friend didn't realize this game was being made by members of old Bioware and because of this he said his honest feelings and he thought the game looked like shit. That doesn't sound good. He doesn't follow stuff closely like I do, so I'd group him in with a more casual audience.
Casual audience can launch a decent game into a great franchise. The casuals have wallets too. Not their fault the game's not exciting.
Looks to me like plenty of games have issues with marketing nowadays, be it Exodus, AC: Shadows or Avowed - although for the latter two the reasons might slightly differ.
I think the reason for each is very different. AC: Shadows butchered Japanese history, while Avowed looks like ass and the idiot who made it look that bad said lots of stupid shit.
I think Exodus is just too nerdy for many.
Lol. Those are anti-marketing
The game completely lost me at "Wizards Of The Coast".
Watch his previous videos they are a cash cow for the game nothing more, the writers have complete control of what the game becomes.
I hope this game doesn't sink because marketing screwed up,
The game actually looks like spiritual successor to mass effect and we know we aint getting a good mass effect game from bioware anytime soon.
Bioware is probably shutting down.
@@spellandshield The game director of "The Veilguard" has allegedly quit bioware so things are not looking good for them.
@@KratosisGod Yeah, nothing official but very likely over for them.
Imagine a world where Biowares ME5 outsells Exodus? One can argue whether they think ME5 will be a good game or not. I do think Bioware will have no problem properly getting fans hyped for it. Exodus has to step up it's marketing.
i would say one of their main problem is that, this video has no link to their channel or any of their videos.... (-_-')
Can't agree with this, but then again I'm probably their target audience since I loved DA and ME. And the OG developers are behind this game and that info is already enough for me to get hyped 😅and they said that if you liked ME your gonna love this one. I watched the trailer so many times and always get hyped.I hope it will succeed when it comes out.
We also don't know the release date of the game so I'm gonna assume we will get better trailers in the future so don't lose hope.😂
But ngl Dawnwalker looked awesome and I'm hyped for that game as well.
Maybe you should look at the marketing of Avowed 😭😭😭that has been terrible the game releases next month and the developers are radio silent...💀
Avowed is EVEN worse yes....no doubt.
Time dilation is not a hook that can be conveyed in a trailer. They need to talk about other things as well.
What would be best is if they can make gameplay trailer which shows various outcomes of a decision you made just from one exodus.
It absolutely can be. It just isn't enough of a hook. It is barely even gameplay. "Visit places and people, and if you ever return they will be gone". People generally like seeing how their actions change how NPCs relate (worship) them, so time dilation is a harder feature to market.
good take. agreed that the exodus marketing makes me a tad worried--but like you said at the end, if they release 2026, there's still some wiggle room.
what REALLY REALLY has me worried is freaking AVOWED???? have they completely accepted that KCD2 is going to gobble them up?? the xbox direct thing is on january 23rd. maybe during that presentation, or shortly thereafter, avowed marketing will go into overdrive. but it's like a month away and i barely see anything about it.
This just calls to attention how smart Rebel Wolves were with their marketing.
Really hope The Exodus folks turn this around before it's too late
When I was in grade 9 - Many, MANY years ago; we had a book report assignment. It was meant to be about 280 pgs over the weekend. Most kids complained about the fact they couldn't read 280 pgs over one weekend.
I myself decided to read the Icewind Dale Trilogy, and report on it. I had the books clumped into one big book, and I hadn't at that point read them. They totaled either near or just over 1 k pages. Needless to say my teacher was impressed... and my teacher was the ONLY one impressed, that I'd managed to do so. There was a reason I was a loner in High School.
Today's generation has Tiktok, and relatively the attention span of a goldfish. when I write at times, one page in reviews online that would be about the length of a paperback = people write TL;DR. Stating that Exodus has a companion novel (IE: Homework) that is about 1 k pages makes me laugh my ass off in real life. That's not going to help anyone's case for it.
I agree with you, absolutely. If I didn't have any background knowledge about Exodus, I would have 100% made the conclusion that this is just another generic sci-fi that's just a little bit more competent than Starfield. The character designs are also not my favorite, so far and the graphics style and art is super reliant on UE5 and doesn't stand out in the slightest. You could tell it was made in UE5 just by looking at the visual effects in the game. Character faces also look a bit undercooked and have that dead glare vibe. I'm super hyped for the game but these are my unfortunate observations.
Yeah, at the moment it is only the autists who are really hyped about it.
I think Dawnwalker also has the advantage of being about playing a vampire in a medieval setting.
That feels way more fresh than another space game (regardless of how cool the worldbuilding is).
You also have to factor in that one studio is made up of ex-CDPR employees while the other one is made up of ex-Bioware vets. If you look at the recent track record of CDPR vs Bioware one of them is clearly above the other. And it's not Bioware.
WoTC being involved in any capacity makes me reticent to have any faith in this game being good. The lore sounds really cool to a sci-fi nerd like me, but that's not going to appeal to the average consumer.
Thats why im remaining skeptical on this game rather full on hyped for dawnwalker. WOTC are a total blight on the gaming space, but i did hear the founder of this game said he demanded creative freedom to make it. But bc of all this im on the fence.
Please, Exodus. Just give me the elevator pitch. Just copy paste the Mass Effect 1 trailer and swap out the lore nouns and I'll be sold. Everything I see from Exodus is MEANDERING. Just tell me what the game is about. That's not spoiling anything. GTA6: You play as a modern day Bonnie and Clyde in a hyper realistic parody of current year Florida. See? It's okay. It's fine. The world didn't end. And now people have something to sink their teeth into.
Idk. The Dawnwalker trailer left me indifferent. It wasn't bad, but there wasn't anything for me to get excited about. On the other hand, we've seen quite a bit of Exodus: Celestials, time dilation, some companions, Jun, etc. Of the two games, I'm definitely more excited for Exodus, which leaves me to believe that less people are interested in space operas than medieval vampire games.
Same here. BoD looks cool, don't get me wrong. But between a game with fixed protagonist (with cheesy name) and a game with customisable protagonist I am more exited to play customisable pc. Games with fixed protagonist like Geralt or Adam Jensen, or Senua don't appeal to me. I'm more likely to watch letsplay, then buy the game and play myself.
Mirroring my thoughts exactly!
The difference in terms of hype could also come from the fact that it is a science-fiction RPG game. It's a niche genre.
I do hope the devs talk more about the game and show some gameplay too.
I remeber being kind of hyped when it was first announced but then I just kind of forgot about it until I saw the Secret Level episode for the game.
Does Exodus have a marketing problem? At least I am already sold.
I Am interested in Exodus.
I think that main wave of marketing isn't started yet. It will ramp up when release date will be revealed.
Just get Asmond Gold to watch the trailer and do a vid.
Exodus seems to have been targetted at the sci-fi nerd audience so far. I think it's just a smaller target audience than Dawnwalker, which has more more audience options.
It's like comparing EVE Online to World of Warcraft. Both are MMOs, but very different target audiences and the market share shows that.
I'm interested in Exodus, but they are releasing too many words, not enough visual content that tells me info. Give me videos, even if they are done in a lower cost artistic method like Diablo or The Witcher did.
One game that I'm really waiting to play is "Like a Dragon: Pirate Yakuza in Hawaii", new chapter in "Like a Dragon" (formerly known as "Yakuza" in west) franchise, yes it's also very different game from BG3, but it has shown tons of gameplay, game mechanics and whole lot other things to do in game, like a ship versus ship combat which is almost straight out from Assassin's Creed: Black Flag.
That game is gonna be a wild ride of experience to play, and fun too.
Looks cool and I hope you enjoy it.
I think Exodus need to "plant a flag" so to speak, tell that game is this, the story is that, you are this and this is what you are against. Right now for me the exodus throw my way some general concepts what the game is rather than concrete thing what to expect. Also the game for some reason feels very far away, like Im expecting this game in 2026/2027 so maybe this is a factor too.
Absolutely. Conversely, the Dawnwalker showcase left us knowing *exactly* who we're playing, what the stakes are, and what the world will be like. I don't mind lore and flavour, but the Exodus devs *need* to overcome the taint of WOTC and BioWare they *they* painted on themselves with their constant referenced to WOTC and Mass Effect in their Q&A's. I DO think the game will be really good, but they need to shake those names off their product and do some really careful and intentional and *honest* marketing to overcome the problems they made for themselves.
You're right. I didn't even hear of the game until the discord drama. I always trust my gut instinct when it comes to games, and it said that the world seemed interesting but that game left no impression. And I think that might be the crux of the issue: the developers are over-invested in the world-building and aren't invested enough in the product.
Exactly, lore is not going to sell a game to the masses.
I have to agree with you on a lot of the points you make here. I think there is one saving grace, personally: "word of mouth". I had never heard of BG3 until one of my friends told me about it a day before its offical release. I think Baldurs Gate 3 had a similar but different problem than Exodus will. They had the problem of barely anyone knowing what it was to the general public, but they had such a strong release it didnt matter. But the game was so good it went beyond the appeal of "dnd players". I think if exodus on release is a great game that succeeds on every metric it goes for it the goodwill will be all the marketing it needs. I think that we've been missing on good games as of recent and a game going above and beyond even if it has garbage marketing will spread it more than most games. I believe in this game and its ability, I think we have come to find that even if a game trashes itsself in the process of onboarding people early with marketing if the quality is amazing enough it will succeed.
The secret level episode of exodus was quite disappointing. Very rushed and did not feel it was showing off the universe. I know limited runtime was a factor but i was really looking forward to it and felt nothing.
I wonder how much the legacy is important here.
The people from Rebel Wolves have worked mostly on Witcher 3 and use that to hype up the crowd, as Witcher 3 was a banger.
Archetype is a mix of people, but amongst them those who worked on Mass Effect. And whilst Mass Effect 1 and 2 have been very popular, the ending of ME:3 was very controversial. And well, Bioware has been doing badly ever since: Andromeda, Anthem and the latest release Dragon Age: the Veilguard.
So maybe the people of Archetype have to proof themselves more, in the eyes of those who loved bioware's sci-fi series but got disappointed?
Just wait till the gameplay comes out
I do agree that they seem too reluctant to go into details in the Q and As, which needs to change asap. Some of the questions are also nothingburgers.
I forgot this was being made
if they show us the mara yama people will come flocking
everybody says that video games are for little kids but that is far from the truth, video games are now mainly for the grown ups and grown ups love dark stories. If what they said about them comes true in the screen then the game will have a chance for success.
λέει την αλήθεια...
@@spellandshield με βρηκες 😁
I'd take Expedition 33 as a great example of marketing.
Last time I checked, the market size of Fantasy games is 3x the Sci-fi.
Apples and oranges here I think, bc Dawn has an established setting and the lore is familiar, and its dripping with atmosphere. You get the take immediately, but are left to wonder. You have so many questions. With Exodus, we kinda of a-ready know what to expect. It's Mass Effect on steroids. The lore is more complex, unknown, and needs a lot of explaining. We know vampires. We know medieval Europe. We don't know the galaxy of Exodus. Much harder sell imo
There’s also a giant elephant in the room that no one wants to talk about - go back and watch the extended trailer for Exodus. People are just burned out on Girlboss games. the first two minutes leans entirely into that; it doesn’t matter whether that narrative is a matter of history or present gameplay.
Just like bad character animations and incredibly ugly PCs have become a shorthand for shitty games, POC Girlboss has as well. And that’s terribly unfair, but we develop heuristics for a reason: exposure. I don’t think a lot of rank and file gamers are going to sign up for what looks like just another generic UE5 girlboss title.
Archetype is going to have to earn their audience after a decade of horrible new IPs and malicious destruction of previous franchises.
yeah, I think this is definitely a factor too. The cinematic teaser trailer is way more 'known' than the more recent trailers and gameplay reveal. I think a lot of players will look at that and put 2 + 2 together and get 5. Especially with the only other female character being fairly butch, short pink hair and mouthy. I personally like the mech driver, but a LOT of guys seem to hate her on sight. They need to counteract that and stop comparing themselves to BioWare. They can't afford to associate their game with that company right now.
@@noctoi my ad campaign would just be: “We are the REAL Bioware.” 😂
@@editorrbr2107 Given BioWare Edmonton (Spelling? Not American lol) looks like it's closing down after Corrine quit, this might actually be a good marketing ploy!
@@editorrbr2107 You're not wrong because Rebel Wolves have really leaned into the we are the real CDPR meme...but Archetype won't do that...for sure not.
No doubt an issue for some, especially if they sampled the book which is woke as h***. But woke games and movies do succeed if they are remotely competently made. Sadly most people seem to be blind to the propaganda.
Everything looks so grey, so dark.. so rubbery. And I don't get how we're supposed to feel emotionally connected to these extreme future humans
Your not supposed to - thier the enemy
Super solid point about Exodus marketing!
I like Fantasy more then Si-fi It's much harder to sell me a si-fi game. I also love Vampires so Dawnwalker is an easy sell to me. Exodus isn't as interesting to me, after I know what type of characters we can play as I'll know for sure.
I think they're holding back much of the marketing budget.
I check everyday for a physical collectors edition 😂😂 this game is my number one want ! I just wish they'd give us more information especially if it's supposed to ship this year .
They need a Steam page. The forums will be the start of a community for the game and it'll viral skyrocket from there.
Yeah, I feel conflicted about this. On one hand I want it to be successful and gain the popularity that will allow it to grow and be as robust and engaging of a game and universe as possible but I appreciate the authentic approach and it not trying to just market for broad appeal. I love that it seems to be made for and by the kind of people that appreciate the depth that the Centauri cluster seems to offer.
Exodus is not even launching for at least a year? Also, they are different genres.
I mean it's hard to compete with a game where you get to play a vampire, with those visuals. It's going to draw gazes. Not saying Exodus is doomed, but it just won't get that same attention until played.
Archetype are tied to WotC so I think many people are taking a wait and see approach based on that.
Yeah I think they could have ridden the WOTC and "looks like old-school BioWare" waves a year ago, but the 'updates' to D&D and Veilguard's crash and burn have happened since this game was first announced. Nostalgia and hope isn't cutting it anymore. I think they need to do some serious damage control and show us something that pulls players attention away from their association with two very disliked studios. That reputation won't go away unless they make an effort to remove it rather than leaning into it.
i agree , too much information but not game information.
Thanks :)
01:15 gaves us some star wars outlaws inspired stealth mechanics
tbf it got me to go back and play Mass Effect for the first time, and now I'm more excited than before so it's worked for me lol
Exodus really do look generic... animals as a humanoid enemy? at least mass effect have cool looking aliens, not so much in andromeda, but, one of the first that got me into the first mass effect is the cool looking aliens, and i still dont know what Exodus gameplay would be, is it a mass effect clone or a space ship combat game? because there wasent any ground combat in the secret level episode, it look like its just another space game by Chris Roberts
Animals are not always humans enemy at all, it just depends on them. Celestials (who are kinda aliens) are "humans enemy" (kinda as well). There has been a 2min gameplay trailer which shows it's kinda like Mass Effect (combat on ground, with two mates on mission).
I dunno, I think the Mara Yama are pretty cool and interesting and terrifying. Just because all the 'aliens' have human DNA doesn't mean they aren't 'cool'. There are plenty of gnarly looking enemies and potential allies they've shown us so far.
The game which I'm the most excited for right now, Dawnwalker right after.
But yes I agree, the marketing has not been great until now (and probably for longer as well), even a lot of the ones who love the lore and who are really invested in Exodus want more ; pieces of lore here and there + Q&As ain't enough where we are at now.
The only reason why I'm still more excited for Exodus than Dawnwalker is because I prefer SciFi.
Hopefully, AE shows us something cool soon, things which look great and "unique", which can make people see this game has something great to offer, instead of just being another "basic space game".
They could show more of the Celestials (Crown or Mara Yama, both would be better, maybe even another Celestial civilisation if there will be a third which will be very important in the game), of the Livestone, of the Silicates (though there, we've gotten more, but only the founders did through that email sent video), etc.
I am the opposite; I am more fantasy > sci-fi and I am still interested in Exodus, just wonder what they are doing...
It depends where they see their release window. I much rather prefer intensive 6 - 9 month media campaign with nearly finished product - as opposed to CGI or "in-game alpha footage" trailers years ahead of release.
The marketing by Rebel Wolves has been really great. The fact that big and small youtubers are reacting positively really speaks values. Even Asmongold reacted to the trailer. 😂
When is it releasing? This year?
Probably next year.
I think they need to reinvigorate what people really enjoyed about Mass Effect, particularly Mass Effect 2. Sure, the lore in Mass Effect was actually really good, especially across the first two games, since the third one kind of messed it up a little. You need to hype up a dynamic dialogue system and emotional storytelling so that it feels like an epic space opera. You need to showcase an incredibly well-written and interesting cast of companions that players will want to get to know and adventure with. And you need to emphasize choice and consequence so that players know they can craft their own narrative. This is basic.
Trust of marketing is low. Trust of any large corporate product is low. Trust of Wizards of the Coast specifically is VERY low.
This game will not have a strong launch because of associations and funding sources imply it will not be good.
The extreme cultural damage caused by such groups as Wizards of the Coast incites a call for blood, and they choose not to hear it. They will suffer and many will watch with joy. The game being good or bad does not matter while it has this association.
Maybe, I get being apprehensive. But I don’t mind these breakdowns of lore being produced for fans looking forward to the game. A library of content is nice to have.
I imagine more eye catching stuff will be released closer to game date
I love the lore too....but like I said, it is not for everyone or even most people.
Personally I'm not sold on Dawnwalker either. Besides needing more than a glimpse of gameplay the 30 days and 30 nights timer is worrisome. I've never liked timers in games. Maybe it will be done in a way that's fine, but I won't know until much more is revealed.
If it helps any, they said it's not a "timer" as such, it's a in character time until your family meets a "bad fate" tm. The "timer" (day/night cycle) is progressed by the *completion* of milestone quests. It looks like you can bank those quests and explore to your heart's content. The "timer" doesn't clock over until you *hand the quest in* .
I have to be honest, its going to be hard to feel for the future humans as much. They will be harder to relate to. Thats the reason i always like the guardsmen in 40k or the empire soldiers in fantasy, bc you can relate to ordinary guys facing absolute horrors. But that said, im still 100% giving this game a shot with a purchase if it keeps modern politics and dei stuff out of it. Just make a fun game with lore that makes sense and youll have my money. Im more excited for dawnwalker, but im keeping my hopes up for this game too.
I'm not sure if this is a 1st time I've heard about Exodus at all, or I've did in a past and instantly forgot. Some nx lvl marketing here...
The only marketing video games need today is making a good game.
well these games are like 5 years away. they fine
Exodus is definitely not 5 years away.
I think the Exodus team have a little bit of catching up to do because of the game awards where they showed their first reveal too. I don't know how many others felt the same way as me, but I completely ignored Exodus and didn't have any idea what it was about until YOU started covering for one simple reason - That fiasco of an award show where Swen Vinke was kicked off the stage mid speech about Larian's deceased staff. Every time a celeb was ushered on stage that night, someone's award speech was cut short, and I saw Mathew and saw red. I simply didn't want to know what it was.
As soon as you started covering the game, I realised it *was* a game I'd be interested in, but the context of Matthew being called on stage to showcase Exodus left a *very* bad taste in my mouth.
I think we've also had some sci-fi games release relatively recently (not the same *type* , but we've had a couple of Warhammer games etc.), but we haven't had a *good* vampire game in a *very* long time.
I also think they need to show us that they're *not* just an ME clone too. That was exciting before Veilguard, but anything even vaguely resembling BioWare games is kind of poison at the moment. I know it'll settle down before the game is released, but the *last* thing they need in two years (or whenever) it's released, is for people to remember BioWare's fiascos when they are trying to sell a *new IP* . The devs have stated repeatedly, how much 'inspiration' this game pulls from Mass Effect/their BioWare days. Now is NOT the time to ride those coat tails
Anyway, I think the laid back chats and lore shorts have worked well so far, but from mid 2025 they have a *lot* of competition and a fair bit of the BioWare taint to overcome from their *own* marketing statements. I agree they need to pull something out of their hats to keep their momentum building.
They don't have to do anything look at Elden Ring! They did the book & it is awesome! Marketing needs to be as little as possible! If too much is released people will tear it apart because it doesn't live up to their expectations! Exodus just needs to do what it has been doing after all it is their game & I support them 110%!
I'll give you the marketing is a bit wack for Exodus. But for a scifi literary fella such as myself I'm all in. I will say having WotC involved does give me doubt. Let's hope 'they' don't try to put their shit into it.
Dawnwalker with the OG CdpR team working on it? Yeah I haven't been this excited for a game since the Witcher 3! 😎
There’s also a genre difference too. Fantasy has almost always outsold sci fi. And that’s true whether it is gaming or films or print. Your point stands: the marketing has not been great for this game, in terms of getting the heart beat up. And I don’t think, as a tactical maneuver, the exodus team has leaned nearly enough into their Mass Effect credentials. Rebel wolves will remind you of their bona fides at every opportunity.
But there is a genre difference that is always going to come in to play as well (The supremely mediocre inquisition sold 11 million copies. ME3 sold just over 5 million; it was the most successful in the franchise, for instance).
For me the biggest point of concern is this being a hasbro/wotc game, not licensed like bg3, but wholly owned. I’m not a fan (to put it mildly) of what they did with pen and paper dnd, and I cannot shake the feeling these guys are not the ones to trust with this new ip (though the devs certainly deserve respect).
That being said, I keep watching the news on Exodus and seeing how things develop, and so far I’m interesting in playing it
Yeah this kind of concerns me. They made a point of saying "not owned, we retain all ownership and rights to the game" when it was first announced, and now they're totally in bed with WOTC and even have the WOTC dude in the dev videos. I'm a little confuse and miffed by this. Not a deal breaker for me... YET... but it does give me pause. Why lie?
Thanks.
You've already talked about the importance of selecting, broadening and narrowing the target audience in gaming. I'm sure the marketing campaign structure here is also completely conscious (just as it was with the unfortunate DA: Veilguard from the very first moment last summer), although there may be some loss of momentum. What I see is that the essential calls that appeal to casual players are completely absent. It simply lacks the fun, the flair, the level of magic and mystical that would attract viewers. (Not to mention romance that most ME players cling to and BG3 unfortunately set the bar wrong for). The game looks serious, the lore is serious, the whole background is serious - and so, it attracts solely the the serious and hardcore gamers so far who are old enough to know what "ME OG DEV" means, but that's no way to attract new, young gamers.
Oh there's definitely romance in the game, they've said that in a few of the dev Q&A's. What surprises me is that they really haven't showcased any companions that will *be* romanceable. In the 'anti DEI age" most guys won't want to romance a girl with short pink hair, so who's left? There's only going to be five companions - One is an (apparently) butch looking woman, one is an older guy (not everyone's cup of tea), There's another silhouette that looks kind of alien, which leaves max two spaces for "conventionally attractive" love interests.
I love that they have included romances, but I DO think they need to get those last few companions right, otherwise it'll be another scream-fest about "oh X sexual preference had more than Y sexual preference, it's not fair" thing. They have enough to overcome with their connection to BioWare and WOTC, I really hope they get this aspect right.
Well said!
@@noctoi Absolutely. There are no good romance picks for your average straight male gamer; there were a several in Mass Effect. I just have this feeling that the game could go belly up.
@ Thank you so much for your detailed answer about romance options. I am curious about this game (will definitely read any novels about this world, and look at the art/rpg books), but also 70-80% sure that I am not the target audience. Relying only on the UA-cam trailer, it just did not show anything that made me think: I want this. Still I admire its potential and wish it success.
About romance: there are loud people on both sides, one are so extremely picky that they need overrepresentation bc they think that only that's fair; the others are scared when they see a woman lead. But if the characters are integral part of the world, and their sexuality is not a channel for sending a message but a secondary layer in their personality, it shouldn't even matter. It's just sad that we're at such a point in time when people need to be convinced that the characters will be allright, that the story will be compelling and that it will be fun to play both for casual gamers and hardcore gamers. (I first and foremost blame DA:V for this.)
@ You probably won't enjoy Exodus BUT you might enjoy Dawnwalker...
no one wants to beat up a bear
Fair point!
i dont recall any marketing for mass effect 1, i found out about the series for mass effect 2s release. exodus has no set release date, and most likely to have a 2026 release date. i can see them waiting until within a year out to start the real marketing campaign. if theres nothing by summer/fall then theres a problem. i also think putting time between the recent space disasters like starfield and the marketing of a new space game isnt a bad idea. and though the audience is different, anything Nintendo is going to dominate the internet space for the first half of 2025
Must remember gaming 20 years ago was very different to gaming today. A game could survive being marketed by word of mouth back then. Now games are being made with huge budgets that need sales in the millions just to survive so proper marketing and advertisement becomes crucial.
@ with how things are today i think its far better to have a slow trickle of updates to develop a core dedicated fanbases interest and then a marketing push focusing within a few months of launch to build hype for the average gamer. hopefully theyll be smart with the advertisement so it doesnt balloon their budget to the unreasonable levels a lot of triple a studios suffer from. also give very little time for the self sabotage we see in a lot of releases. former bioware devs or makers of mass effect are a detriment to marketing with how many things have crashed and burned. and if they can also form a stark contrast between modern biowares mass effect and former biowares exodus all the better
I think that the game is far more important than the marketing. A good game will sell itself, but if the game is bad, good marketing cannot save it.
Maybe. BG3 was marketed well too.
@@spellandshield At the end of the day, if the game is bad, there's no salvaging the situation in the long run. If the game is good, it may be a situation that can be addressed.
Honestly, the combat/action in the game feels very slow in Exodus. Almost boring really, i'd like to see how the mechanics work and hod fluid it feels. I liked my loop is in Mass Effect - fire - throw grenade - dash in - shotgun out. It was fun and felt fast and kinetic.
Don't agree with you on that. I think Archtype has plenty of time to show more and it's still early. I have a sense it still has a more time to go.I am ok with Dawnwalker but not a big fan of vampires generally.
I think they did marketing upside down.
McConaghey was just a big ??? before I even KNEW this game was supposed to be a Mass Effect / Interstellar RPG in the making. And that must've been expensive.
Compare that to the stellar (pun intended) appearance of Keanu Reeves in the famous "you are breathtaking" game show and what it did for CP2077.
Me, I like hard sci fi, I like high "fantasy" scy fi, I love RPGs, this game will only fail to please me if it's objectivelly BAD. But I sure hope it's a hit for the future of the genre.
Yep. I'm not a huge fan of him at the best of times, so when he interrupted the game award recipients with his (incredibly lackluster) "pewpew" intro to Exodus I immediately switched off and ignored the game on principle. I only started taking notice because S&S started covering it almost a year later. I do think I'll love it, but the marketing has been hitting some sour notes for enough people that it's making *me* worry even though I personally like what I'm seeing.
I mean, technically, there are no aliens in the game, right? Just future humans.
The aliens are genetically altered Earth animals that the Celestials modified for specific reasons.
It's the time travel for me, love sci fi, hate time travel...with a passion.
It's not time travel. It's physics.
It's not actually about time travel. It just features time dilation which is where time passes differently for people who are traveling near light speed than for others. It's a real life consequence and a grounded aspect of the sci fi genre.
As others mentioned, it's not 'time travel' it's dime *dilation* . It's an actual real world aspect of physics. You can look it up in advanced physics text books, and if you went in a spaceship at near-light speeds, you'd *actually* experience it.
Check out the audio book. It's actually pretty decent.
I literally already recommened it on my channel and said I read it in the video. I am all in on the lore but most people need more.
Exodus will do just fine.
Bioware is supposed to shut down on February, all the mass effect nostalgia will cary the game even without a major marketing
It is still a rumour at this stage but yes, it is certainly possible that it will galvanise people towards Exodus.
We don’t really want the attention of the average gamer.. we want gamers who love and appreciate rpgs
Sure but it needs to go beyond autists and nerds. BG3 sold well because average people liked it at the end of the day.
@@spellandshield Speaking as an autistic nerd, YES!! While I LOVE games that pander to my fascinations, if the game doesn't sell well there won't be another. If it's *actually good* I want more!! 😅
I can not agree with you. People very much interested in this game, there are plenty of creators covering it regularly, as well as regular updates from official channel, sharing snippets of lore, gameplay, interviews with devs, etc. I keep hearing about it everywhere I go in various rpg and sci-fi related spaces, folks have great expectations for this puppy. Considering game is still in development and don't have launch date more aggressive marketing can make it worse, not better. We all remember how CP2077 overdone it, crashing and burning on release?
Compare the Dawnwalker reception with that of Exodus...sure, some people are talking about it; I have talked about it for almost a year but....it needs more exposure.
@@spellandshield is it necessary to start hype wars in addition to every other controversy surrounding every other release ever for the past decade or so? How about we don't compare them and just treat independently at face value. If anything, I intend to buy both, because they both look cool in their own way.
Also, consider this. Dawnwalker was just announced, it's natural bunch of people picked up fresh news and talked about it coming to conclusion it's very intriguing. If they keep up the news, people will keep on covering it. Pretty much the same thing happened year ago with bunch of creators picking apart trailer for Exodus from game awards and coming to conclusion it's very interesting premise. Since then they released bunch of stuff, keeping moderate buzz while they keep on working in production. Business as usual.
There's no issue here, no problem requiring special action, because game will be in trouble if they don't. Like, c'mon, seriously? Where this doom howling coming from?
@ It comes from concern because I want Exodus to succeed. I have read the book, all the lore and stories. I want this game to do well...but I am going concerned. Sure, what happens will happen but I can voice my concerns in the meantime.
I never even heard of exodus
There you go. I have made a lot of videos about it so if you are interested check them out.
I'm into fantasy rpgs more like a girl gamer maybe we do have the majority after all!
Information about Exodus is non existant. Yes we got lore, but there is next to nothing about the game itself.
And there is always "we will tell you more later..." but later never comes. The pacing of the marketing is off.
It's weird how you're discussing Dawnwalker for 3 entire minutes while showing video from Exodus
Because I am comparing them?